KOUROU (French Guiana): Arianespace's first increased-lift Ariane 5, that was to lift off for its inaugural flight with two satellites Thursday failed to take off from the launch pad in French Guiana after problems with its Vulcain engine.

The countdown of the Ariane 5 EC-A had been flawless but the rocket failed to take off at the end of the countdown.

The cryogenic arms providing hydrogen and oxygen to the launcher failed to operate properly, causing the countdown to be stopped, the AFP news service quoted Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall as saying.

It will be several days before another launch attempt is made, AFP reported.

The rocket was the first upgraded version of Europe's Ariane-5 rocket. It has a capacity to launch payloads of up to 10 tons into geostationary transfer orbit. Previous versions of the rocket had the maximum capacity of 6.8 tons.

The rocket was carrying Hot Bird 7, a communications satellite for the Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat, and Stentor, an experimental satellite developed by the French Space Agency (CNES), France Telecom and France's Defence Procurement Agency.